James 5 – Praying for the Sick

Welcome to the Rapid Bull, daily edition, where we provide a quick Biblical interpretations and applications.

This is a ministry of striving for eternity. Many people know the passage of James chapter 5, verse 14, if any of you is sick among you, let them call for the elders of the church and pray for them, and that the prayer of faith may save those who are sick.

And it talks about using oil, and a lot of people you'll see when they bring someone who's sick, they bring them before the church with the pastors there, and they take out oil and rub it on their head, and yet really don't understand what this passage is really speaking of.

Why? Because they ignore the context. Verse 13, they skip, is anyone among you, what's that word, suffering, let them pray, is anyone cheerful, let him sing, is anyone among you sick?

Now this word in the Greek for sick means a state of incapacitated. It can mean ill, but it can also mean a spiritual sickness, it could mean a spiritual illness where you're incapable of praying on your own, and that's why you call others who are more spiritual to pray for you.

What is the oil? Well the oil was often used as a medicine to rub in, and so the idea of that would be people were being beaten for their faith at this time, and so maybe the oil was something not just to put on their head and say, oh, suddenly it's somehow more spiritual, no, it was to heal the injuries that they had had, and so what you end up seeing here is that this is not something where if you're sick, get a dab of oil, pray before the church with the elders, and suddenly you'll be healed, no, it's the idea of when you're so spiritually wounded from being beaten, you need the oil for medicine, and you need those that are more spiritual to pray for you.

This podcast is part of the Striving for Eternity ministry. For more content, or to request a speaker or seminar to your church, go to strivingforeternity .org